Gordon Brown embarked on a nationwide tour yesterday to see the impact of the recession as Viyella, the clothing retailer, became its latest victim.

The chain, which was founded in 1784 and has more than 100 stores and concessions, collapsed into administration, putting about 450 jobs at risk.

One of the company's distribution plants is in Derbyshire, where the Prime Minister began his three-day tour by announcing a £140 million scheme to create 35,000 new apprenticeships in 2009-10. Mr Brown said that the move would allow Britain to “train for the future”.

He insisted that a general election was the “last thing on my mind”, adding: “The first thing on my mind is that I'm here to help the families and businesses in this country come through this global problem.”

In Derby, the Prime Minister visited the aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce for the announcement that the number of apprenticeships will be increased to more than 250,000. Rolls-Royce said it would be taking on 50 extra apprentices this year in addition to the 170 it already planned to recruit.

Mr Brown said: “We are doing everything to deal with what is a global financial crisis that is hitting Britain. So I'm talking to businesses, I'm talking to families, I'm talking to people who are worried about their mortgages, I'm talking to a range of community organisations in the places I'm visiting.

“I want to hear what people have to say, to explain what we are doing and to explain what we are going to do next.”

Mr Brown will be joined by the rest of the Cabinet in Liverpool today on the next leg of his tour. It will be the third Cabinet meeting to be held outside London in recent months as the Government attempts to show that it is in touch with the rest of the country.

After the meeting Mr Brown will continue his travels, taking in the West Midlands, the South West and Wales.

The Prime Minister tried to emphasise the dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives in responding to the economic crisis. With the downturn certain to be the overriding concern of voters at the next general election, officials emphasised that the Government was making £40 billion of capital investment over the next year. They said that was more than three times as much as the £12 billion invested in the recession of the early Nineties, when the Conservatives were in power.

Mr Brown acknowledged that rising unemployment was “tough” but insisted that jobs were being lost all over the world, while 200,000 jobs were being created every month in Britain. Similarly, car manufacturers were being hit by a global financial “seizure” that had to be tackled on an international level, he said.

Wherever he goes Mr Brown will see the impact of recently announced closures or job cuts.

Harris Watson, the investment group that owns Viyella, said it believed that there would be strong interest in the brand. It hopes that Poppleton & Appleby, the administrator, would be able to conclude an early sale to protect the brand and as many jobs as possible.

Andrew Turpin, the joint administrator of Viyella, said that several groups had already expressed interest in the business and that all stores would continue to trade while a buyer was sought.

Viyella's downfall emerged a day after Woolworths closed its last 200 shops, ending 99 years of history on the high street, and Adams, the clothing retailer, axed 850 jobs and closed 111 of its stores.

Earlier this week Waterford Wedgwood collapsed, putting 1,900 jobs in danger.

The cost in Derby — so far

Job losses

— 140 jobs lost with the closure of Free Radical Design, a computer games developer in Sandiacre

— Freeth Cartwright, a law firm, will make five or six of thirty-eight employees in Derby redundant

— 140 jobs go at Rolls-Royce assembly and test facility in Sinfin

— About 80 jobs lost as CLF Technologies shut

Local economy

— 870 people in Derby declared themselves bankrupt in the third quarter of last year, compared with 440 for the same time in 2007

— Corporate bankruptcy across the East Midlands is expected to rise by more than two fifths

— Toyota, which has 4,205 employees in Burnaston, has halved shifts and will halt production for four weeks this year. Production has halted entirely at 12 Japanese plants and the company refuses to comment on possible job cuts in the county

The high street

— USC store closing in Albion Street, Derby

— Zavvi store closing in Albion Street

— Internacionale gone from Albion Street

— Farringtons Furnishers in Burton closing after 85 years

Housing & Mortgages

— East Midlands house prices predicted by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors to fall 10 per cent in the next 12 months

— 327 people served with repossession orders in Derby in the third quarter of 2008, compared with 184 in same period of 2007

— Only 5 per cent of people in the East Midlands would consider selling their house in 2009

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